Reform UK may be doomed if Nigel Farage can't keep talent in the party

Telegraph

06-06-2025

SIR – First it was Ben Habib, then Rupert Lowe, and now Zia Yusuf ('Reform civil war over burka ban', report, June 6). Reform UK has lost big hitters who have all played crucial roles in its success.
Will Nigel Farage be the last man standing?
Henry Bateson
Alnwick, Northumberland
SIR – Any organisation that expands rapidly will experience growing pains, when disagreements test the leadership. Management students will recognise this as the 'storming' period of team-building.
We are witnessing Reform UK's storming period. To move beyond it, the party needs to have a strategy behind which the entire leadership can unite, providing clarity of purpose. It cannot be defined only by what it is against.
This is Reform's challenge. It is gaining at the moment because of the complete breakdown in trust in Labour and the Conservatives, yet has grown quickly, without an established policy platform. Until it sets out what it stands for, it will struggle to progress further – and risks falling back.
It still has an opportunity – and a bit of time, but not too long – to present a disciplined front and clear objectives.
Phil Coutie
Exeter, Devon
SIR – Banning the burka would be as illogical as banning the kilt or pinstripe suits. Prohibiting the use of a specific item of clothing is pointless – and an affront to personal liberty.
What would make more sense is to ban all face coverings, including balaclavas, helmets and ski masks, in particular locations where security may be an issue, such as banks, jewellery stores, courts and tribunals, airports and military establishments.
This would not be an insult to any specific section of the community, just common sense.
Dr Chris Staley
Bredwardine, Herefordshire
SIR – Suella Braverman MP is a prominent example of that peculiar 21st-century phenomenon, the authoritarian Tory ('Women should not be veiling their faces in Western society', Comment, June 5).
Previous generations of Conservatives viewed banning things as a last resort, to be used very sparingly, and usually in response to political violence. Banning Sinn Fein from the airwaves during the Troubles is an example.
Mrs Braverman's concern about our national cohesion is laudable. I happen to agree with her that face coverings are to be deprecated. However, she is quite wrong in seeking to ban them as a first resort. What is wrong with trying peaceful persuasion?
If she has tried it, she did not mention it in her article.
David McKee
Borehamwood, Hertfordshire
Leadership of the BBC
SIR – The BBC's habitual missteps in coverage of Gaza ('BBC Israel-Gaza report 'fixed on words of Hamas spokesman'', report, June 6) and mishandling of the Gary Lineker saga speak not so much of poor journalism but more of weak populism at the very top of the corporation.
It is for the Director-General and Chairman to defend the BBC's journalism, not to launch yet another internal inquiry. It is for those same leaders to act decisively to defend the BBC's independence and reputation above any single star, no matter how popular they might be.
The BBC's golden years were in the 1960s, 1970s and early 1980s, when Margaret Thatcher campaigned to weaken it. Then, the BBC was peerless – admired by the good and feared by the bad across the world. Its leaders were cut from different cloth. They were former Servicemen, warriors and statesmen, and won worldwide respect. They knew the corridors of Whitehall and Westminster and had learnt the delicate art of navigating them to the benefit of the BBC and the British public. The BBC desperately needs that type of leadership now.
Stephen R W Francis
BBC historian
Droxford, Hampshire
SIR – The refusal of Russell T Davies to make Doctor Who less woke is typical of someone who is paid by a public corporation where the laws of supply and demand no longer apply.
Single-handedly, he is destroying a valuable British asset in order to promote his woke agenda.
Kelvin Trott
Heckington, Lincolnshire
Squeezed by Labour
SIR – The national debt costs us roughly £274 million a day in interest payments (Letters, June 6), and the Government is adding to this burden every month.
Parliamentarians, civil servants and trade unions are protected from the pain experienced by the self-employed and workers in the private sector, who are being catastrophically squeezed. Meanwhile, our wealth creators are leaving by the plane-load.
What can we do, when those in power are seemingly unaware that our once-proud, innovative and capable country has become a soft-touch non-entity, unable to do anything right, but still arrogantly claiming to the world that they know best?
Malvern Harper
Ripley, Derbyshire
SIR – Never mind the energy bill burden (Letters, June 5), what about business rates?
My rateable value went from £22,000 to £44,000 in April. The amount payable was £23,000, reduced to £13,000 with relief. That's a sum of more than £1,000 a month for a small business, in return for nothing.
The impact on the Government's coffers will be negative when I have to make 12 people redundant.
Reginald Chester-Sterne
Blackfield, Hampshire
SIR – Michael Miller (Letters, May 24) says that 'taxes are the membership fee to live in a civilised society'.
Perhaps there lies the root of the problem: with increasing worklessness, and claims for sickness and other out-of-work benefits ballooning, not enough people are now paying that membership fee.
Mike Hughes
London SW10
Beckham's honour
SIR – David Beckham is to receive a knighthood for being able to kick a football (report, June 6), while Kevin Sinfield, who led Leeds Rhinos to seven rugby league Grand Final victories and has raised more than £10 million for the fight against motor neurone disease, still awaits his.
I'm afraid that this shows anti-Northern bias and reflects the country's obsession with football.
Stanley Surr
Leeds, West Yorkshire
NHS walk-in centres
SIR – Wes Streeting's 'raft of changes' to the existing model of healthcare provision, including a plan to keep all but the seriously ill or injured out of A&E, is most welcome (report, June 6). However, while the idea of introducing same-day treatment centres is wonderful, it is not new.
A few years ago, I felt the need to visit my (long-since closed) walk-in treatment centre. I was swiftly diagnosed and treated for a condition that would have become life-threatening had the centre not been there for me to use. All those walk-in centres, now shut, were invaluable in bridging the gap between GP provision and A&E. I wish Mr Streeting success with his 'innovative' policy.
A city celebrates
SIR – Robert Hill (Letters, June 4) says that English and French football supporters would do well to learn some manners from Napoli fans. It is a pity that he didn't look closer to home.
I was in Liverpool for the long weekend of May 24-26. I have never experienced such large crowds of football fans, despite being a lifelong Liverpool supporter who is lucky enough to be able to travel to Anfield several times a season. Hundreds of thousands of people filled the streets of the city to celebrate winning the Premier League. You could hear singing and merriment everywhere. I marvelled at what an incredibly diverse bunch of people we Liverpool fans are, with all ages and ethnic groups well represented.
Over the three days I did not see anything except joy and kindness, and we non-scousers were made to feel very welcome. Great credit must also go to the blue side of the city, which did nothing to dampen the spirits.
It was very sad that the event ended with the incident in Water Street, but even then the city and the club showed their character, pulling together to help those affected.
Christine Oxland
Wellingborough, Northamptonshire
Tailored thanks
SIR – My husband was the chief fundraiser for a development mission based abroad, and sought donations from all over the world. I became his thank-you-letter writer (Letters, June 6), and it was my intention to write a letter to each person or company who sent a contribution. They were not always posted, once emails came in, but at least an early response was assured.
Learning how to offer appreciation in a different way each time was an interesting challenge, but it is astonishing how it can be achieved with a little thought.
For the five years we were abroad, I kept a record of all donations and could make sure that, if somebody sent a second one, the letter would reflect their previous generosity. These things can be done, and are always worth the effort.
Jennifer Marston
Prinsted, West Sussex
SIR – When my son was young, he'd write: 'Thank you for the £2 gift, please up it to £4 next year.'
We made him do several more drafts – until he could be polite.
Farmers are the custodians of our countryside
SIR – I recently drove through the Cotswolds to Wales. The weather was amazing. We had the roof down for nearly 1,200 miles, and were captivated by the countryside: not just the hills and trees, but the corn beginning to ripen, grass being cut for silage, and cows and sheep grazing in neat fields with hedges.
We farmers are criticised – at times fairly – but this Government seems intent on getting rid of us. What will the countryside look like in the future, and who will be its custodians, as we have been for hundreds of years?
David Taylor
Bicester, Oxfordshire
SIR – When British consumers go food shopping, they want high-quality, affordable food, with a lower impact on the environment. Supermarkets and farmers work together to deliver this, producing some of the best British food on offer, from delicious strawberries to tasty cheddar. British food is renowned across the world, in part because of its high environmental, animal welfare and food safety standards.
Yet these come with costs. Since Brexit, farmers in England no longer receive subsidies for producing food, only for delivering environmental improvements, helping the Government meet legally binding targets. This funding lets farmers invest in protecting rivers and wildlife, planting trees and hedges, and growing food in a more environmentally friendly way.
All this is at risk if investment in sustainable farming is cut at the upcoming Spending Review. Much of this vital work would stop, putting farm businesses at risk. We therefore urge the Chancellor to protect the sustainable farming budget.
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